New Exhibit to Open in the Chesapeake Gallery at Harford Community College

The Chesapeake Gallery at Harford Community College is pleased to present Cindy Mehr: Over the Rainbow, a solo exhibition of recent paintings by the artist that focus on joy and freedom following the end of the coronavirus restrictions and the return to everyday life. The exhibition will be on display from October 14 to November 8. There will be an opening reception on October 15 from 6 to 7:30 PM in the Gallery.

In this vividly colored series of works, Mehr dives deeply into the symbolic and mystical meanings of the rainbow. Within the contrast of somber backgrounds overlaid with vibrant, sweeping colors, the series explores the dichotomies found in the wonder within the everyday and the unexpected moments of joy within times of strife.

The paintings in this series playfully toy with juxtaposition: liquid shapes compete with linear pattern, color is highlighted by its absence, and fleeting forms bounce off more solid structures. In the artist’s own words, “ . . . sometimes treading the line between the spiritual and the mundane, other times celebrating diversity or brief outbursts of euphoria. Rainbows can act as beacons of hope that light up the darkness with spectral whispers, but they can also take on negative overtones if confined or blocked by self-imposed barriers.”

The exhibition will be on view in the Chesapeake Gallery, on the second floor of the Student Center at Harford Community College at 401 Thomas Run Road in Bel Air. Parking is free and accessible parking is available close to the gallery. Gallery hours are Mondays and Thursdays, 8:30 AM - 7 PM; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8:30 AM - 5 PM; and Fridays, 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM. The gallery is closed on weekends and major holidays.

Cindy Mehr

Cindy Mehr has lived on four continents—North America, Africa, Europe and Asia—and has drawn on this international exposure to inspire her creativity. She holds a BFA degree in painting from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MA from Millersville University in Pennsylvania, where she majored in humanities and learned to explore the connections between art and literature. She has had numerous solo and group exhibits in the mid-Atlantic region, earned residencies at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia, creativity grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, and numerous jurors' awards at the Maryland Federation of Art, the Annapolis Maritime Museum, and the Lancaster Museum of Art. Recently, she was juried into the international biennial at the University of Maryland (BMRE). In addition to regional shows, she has exhibited in France, Spain, Japan and Morocco and recently participated in the International Biennial in Servian, France. She regularly exhibits in the south of France as a member of several art organizations. She speaks French and Spanish fluently.